Arrays of numerous solar cells are affixed to panels mounted upon satellites in order to convert visible light emitted by the sun into electrical power. When such satellites operate at altitudes in the range of one to ten earth radii, the natural plasma environment may deposit electric charge on the cell protective coverglasses affixed to upper surfaces of the solar cells. The electrons at these altitudes are extremely energetic and a large amount of charge may accumulate, possibly enough to charge the coverglasses to 20,000 volts. This exceeds the voltage at which electrostatic discharging is known to occur, as the observed discharge threshold is about 1000 volts.
To prevent the production of voltages exceeding the discharge threshold, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer is typically deposited upon the upper or space-facing side of each coverglass, and the ITO layer must be electrically grounded to prevent excessive charge buildup and detrimental discharges. However, there are between 5000 and 20,000 solar cells and associated coverglasses on each communication satellite. If any coverglass grounding connection fails, by becoming an electrically open circuit, the coverglass to which it attaches can build up to a voltage that exceeds the discharge voltage to produce unacceptable performance or cell damage. Two types of grounding techniques, to be described below, have been employed for preventing the destructive charge buildup on the coverglasses. These techniques add hundreds of hours of labor cost to the manufacturing cost of every conductively coated solar array. Moreover, either the epoxy bead or the pad of metallization used in these prior art techniques, will block off some incident light and thus reduce the power output of each cell.